Category: Fiqh Articles

From the legislation of fasting Written by/Said by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (Rahimahullaah) Taken from Miftaah Daar as-Sa’adah Translated by Editorial Staff at the former tazkiyah (dot) org Edited by Editorial Staff at the former tazkiyah (dot) org Ibn al-Qayyim (Rahimahullaah) said: “And as for fasting, then how great an act of worship it is that it stops the desires of the soul. And fasting brings the soul out from being in the likeness of animals to the likeness of the nearest Angels (to Allaah) for indeed if the soul was to follow its desires, it would join the world of the animals. So if the soul holds back its desires for (the sake of) Allaah, then the flowing of Shaytaan (through the bloodstream) becomes restricted and the soul gets nearer to Allaah by the abondonment of its habits and its desires. Having love for Him, choosing His pleasure, seeking nearness to Him, the fasting person leaves off the things he loves and the greatest of these is the attachment of the soul to food, to drink and to (lawful) sexual intercourse (with one’s spouse), for the sake of his Lord. And this is (true) worship. And you cannot envision the reality of fasting except by abondoning the desires for (the sake of) Allaah. So the fasting person leaves off his food, his drink, and his desires for the sake of his Lord. And this is the meaning of what constitutes fasting for His sake, the Blessed and Exalted. And by this, the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) explained this ancillary point in a hadeeth where he said: “Allaah the Exalted and Majestic said: ‘Every act of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting. It is (exclusively) meant for Me and I (alone) will reward it. He leaves his food and his drink for My sake.'” (1) Until the fasting person envisions himself not needing anything from this worldy life except in acquiring the pleasure of Allaah. And what kind of good (deed) exceeds the goodness of this act of worship? (The one) that destroys the desires, and suppresses the soul, and revives the heart and pleases it. And makes one abstain from worldly matters and its desires. And awakens one’s desire for what is with Allaah (i.e. His reward). And (fasting) reminds the rich people about the condition of the needy and that they have (deserve) a portion from their livelihood. Then the rich, their hearts sympathize with the poor, and they know that what they have is from the bounty of Allaah so they increase in their thankfulness to Him. And in summary, the aid of fasting upon having taqwaa of Allaah is a well known matter. So when anyone seeks aid in having taqwaa of Allaah, to safeguard His limits and avoid His prohibitions with the likes of fasting, then he is a witness to the One who legislated it and commanded it, and He is the Wisest of Judges, the Most Merciful. And He legislated fasting as a favor upon His slaves, and as a mercy for them and a kindness to them, and He is not miserly upon them with His bounty. And it is not burden and hardship, free from and empty of wisdom and rectification, except that it has the highest degree of wisdom, and mercy, and rectification. And He legislated these acts of worship for His slaves from the completeness of His favor upon them and a mercy for them.” ________________________________________ 1 Recorded in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and Saheeh Muslim.

The Ruling on a Sick or Traveling Person Fasting AUTHOR: Imaam Muhammad bin Saalih Al-‘Uthaimeen SOURCE: Fusool fis-Siyaam wat-Taraaweeh waz-Zakaat [Upcoming E-Book] PRODUCED BY: Al-Ibaanah.com* Lesson Three: The Ruling on a Sick or Traveling Person Fasting Allaah, the Most High, says: And whoever amongst you is sick or on a journey, then (he may make up) the same amount of missed days on other days. Allaah wants ease for you and He doesn’t want to make things difficult for you.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 185] A sick person falls into two types: First: Whoever has an illness that is permanent and there is no anticipation of it being cured (near term), like cancer for example, this person is not required to fast. This is because he does not have a condition in which it is expected that he will be able to do it (i.e. the fast). However, for every day missed, he must feed a needy person whether if it is by him gathering the same amount of needy people as the days he missed and feeding all of them at once as Anas bin Maalik (radyAllaahu ‘anhu) used to do when he was old, or it could be by dividing up the food for the needy people according to the days missed and then giving every needy person a quarter of a Prophetic saa’, i.e. what weighs about half a kilo and 10 grams of good wheat. It is better if one serves meat or fat along with it in order to compliment the meal. The same applies to an elderly person that is not able to fast, in that he should feed a needy person for every day missed. Second: Whoever has a temporary illness that they will recover from, such as a fever and what resembles that. This kind of illness has three scenarios: 1. Fasting will not burden or cause harm to him. Such a sick person is obligated to fast since he has no excuse to abandon it. 2. Fasting will be difficult on him but it won’t cause any harm to him. In this situation it is detested for him to fast because one is actually refraining from using Allaah’s allowance, while at the same time he is burdening himself. 3. Fasting will harm him. In this situation, it is forbidden for him to fast because of the harm that he will be inflicting upon himself. Allaah says: “And do not kill yourselves. Verily Allaah is All-Merciful to you.” [Surah An-Nisaa: 29] And He says: “And do not throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 195] And in a hadeeth, the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “There is to be no harming (of others) nor harming (of oneself).” Reported by Ibn Maajah and Al-Haakim, and An-Nawawee said: “Its paths of narrations strengthen one another.” One can find out if fasting will be harmful to a sick person by (1) that person feeling it to be harmful on himself or by (2) him being informed of it by a trustworthy doctor. When a person who falls under this category of being sick breaks his fast, he must make up the number of days he missed when he recovers. But if he dies before he recovers then making up the missed days is no longer binding upon him, since he is only obligated to fast the number of days missed on other days, which he was not able to reach. A traveler falls into two types: First: Whoever intends by traveling to cheat his way out of fasting. It is not permissible for such a person to break his fast, since cheating one’s way out of Allaah’s obligations does not remove those obligations from him. Second: Whoever does not intend the above by traveling. This person may fall into one of the following three situations: 1. Fasting is extremely difficult upon him. In this case, it is forbidden for him to fast since one time “The Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was fasting while on the military expedition to conquer Makkah, when news reached him that the people found it difficult to fast and they were looking at him to see what he would do. So he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) called for a cup of water after ‘Asr and drank from it while the people were looking at him. Later it was said to him: ‘Some people are still fasting.’ So he (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) replied: ‘Those are the disobedient ones. Those are the disobedient ones.’” [Reported by Muslim] 2. Fasting is difficult upon him, but not so severe. In this situation it is detested (makrooh) for him to fast since he is refraining from one of Allaah’s allowances, while putting a burden upon himself. 3. Fasting is not difficult upon him. In this case he may do whatever is easiest on him – whether it is fasting or choosing not to fast. This is based on Allaah’s statement: “Allaah wants ease for you and He doesn’t want to make things difficult for you.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 185] The word “want” here takes on the meaning of love (i.e. He loves ease for you). If there is no difference between fasting or not fasting, then fasting is more preferable, because this is what the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did, as is reported in Saheeh Muslim from Abud-Dardaa (radyAllaahu ‘anhu) who said: “We went out (on a journey) with the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) during Ramadaan under intense heat conditions to the point that each of us would put his hand over his head (to cover it) due to the severe heat (of the sun). And no one would be fasting among us except for the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and ‘Abdullaah bin Rawaaha.” A traveler is considered to be traveling from the time he leaves his country to the time he returns to it. And if he takes up residency in the land he travels to for a period of time, he is considered to be traveling as long as he holds the intention that he will never reside there after the objective for which he traveled there for in the first place is fulfilled. So he is entitled to all of the allowances a traveler has even if the length of his residency extends for a long time. This is since the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did not mention any time limit defining when a travel ends. And the foundation with regard to this issue is that one remains in a traveler’s state and under its rules until there comes a proof that the travel has ended and that its rules fail to apply. There is no difference in breaking the fast while traveling between a time-constrained travel, such as Hajj, ‘Umrah, visiting a relative, business travel, and so on and between a continuous travel, such as journeys made by car service drivers such as taxis or other larger forms of transportation (i.e. buses). When these drivers exit from their countries, they all enter into the state of travelers and it is permissible for them to do whatever other travelers are permitted to do, such as not fasting during Ramadaan, shortening the four rak’ah prayers into two rak’ahs, and combining the Dhuhr and ‘Asr prayers and Maghrib and ‘Ishaa prayers, when there is a need for it. Abstaining from the fast is better for them than fasting, if that is easier for them. And they can make up the days missed during the winter. This is because these car service drivers have their own country, which they ascribe to. So when they are in their country, then they are considered residents and whatever applies for or against all other residents also applies for and against them. And when they travel, they are considered travelers and whatever applies in favor or against travelers also applies in favor or against them.

What is Prohibited and Disliked for the one Fasting AUTHOR: Shaikh Saalih Al-Fawzaan (hafidhahullaah) SOURCE: Ittihaaf Ahlil-Eemaan bi-Duroos Shahri Ramadaan PRODUCED BY: (the former) Al-Ibaanah (dot) com All praise be to Allaah for His blessings and kindness. And may the peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family, Companions, and those who follow his guidance and stick to his Sunnah until the Day of Judgement. To proceed: Know that there are certain manners to fasting that must be abided by and adhered to so that the fast could proceed in the way it was prescribed so that one could achieve its benefits, fulfill its objective and not find it discomforting and without benefit. This is as the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Perhaps all a person fasting derives from his fast is hunger and thirst.” So fasting is not just the abandonment of food and drink only. Rather, it also entails abandoning improper statements and actions that are forbidden or disliked. One of the Salaf once said: “The least form of fasting is leaving off food and drink.” This is since drawing near to Allaah by abandoning allowable things cannot be complete unless after drawing nearer to Him by abandoning what Allaah has prohibited under every circumstance. Even though a Muslim is obligated to abandon the unlawful at all times, it is even more binding upon him while he is fasting. If one commits the unlawful in times other than when he is fasting, he is sinning and worthy of being punished. But if he commits it while fasting, then on top of being sinful and deserving of punishment, this affects his fast by it being either deficient or nullified. So the person who truly observes the fast is he who withholds his stomach from food and drink, refrains his limbs from sins, restricts his tongue from vile and evil speech, restrains his ears from listening to songs, musical instruments, backbiting and gossip, and holds back his eyes from looking at the forbidden. The Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever does not abandon false speech and acting upon it, then Allaah is not in need of him abandoning his food and drink.” [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree] The person who is fasting must avoid backbiting, gossip and insulting others, based on what the two Shaikhs (Al-Bulkhaaree and Muslim) reported from Abu Hurairah (radyAllaahu ‘anhu) that he said, and it was raised as being a saying of the Prophet: “Fasting is armor. So if it is a day in which one of you is fasting, then he should not be vile in speech nor should he be sinful nor should he be ignorant. And if someone reviles him, then he should say: ‘I am a person that is fasting.’” The word junnah (armor) is that which protects the one who wears it from the weapon of his opponent causing harm to him. So fasting protects a person from falling into sins whose consequences are punishment in this world and the next. The word rafath in the hadeeth refers to lewd and immoral speech. Imaam Ahmad reported in marfoo’ form that the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Verily, fasting is armor so long as it is not pierced.” It was said: “What causes it to be pierced?” He (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Lying and Backbiting.” This is proof that backbiting pierces the fast or makes a dent in it. When armor is pierced it is of no more use to the one wearing it. So in the same manner, when one’s fast is pierced, it is no longer any benefit to the one performing it. Backbiting is as the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) explained it, and that is mentioning about your brother what he hates. It has been reported in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad that this breaks the fast: “Two women were once fasting during the lifetime of Allaah’s Messenger and they almost died of thirst. This was mentioned to the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) but he turned away from (allowing) them (to break the fast). Then they were mentioned to him again, so he called for them and ordered them to vomit, i.e. throw up, what was in their stomachs. So they both vomited and filled up a bowl with puss, blood and pieces of flesh. Then the Prophet (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘These two fasted by refraining from what Allaah made lawful for them. but they broke their fast by doing what Allaah made unlawful for them. One of them sat with the other and they began to eat from the flesh of people.’” What transpired with these two women in the presence of the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) from their vomiting vile and disgusting things – this was from the miracles that Allaah allowed to occur at the hand of His Messenger so that he could show the evil effects of backbiting to the people. Allaah says: “And do not backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother?”[Surah Al-Hujuraat: 12] This hadeeth shows that backbiting breaks the fast. This is in the figurative sense, meaning it nullifies the reward of fasting. May Allaah send His peace and blessings on our prophet, Muhammad, his family and Companions.

The Obligation of Seeking Refuge from Four Things Before the Du’aa in TashaahudShare19Taken from the ‘Original Sifat as-Salah’ By Shaykh Muhadith Nasir as-Sunnah Muhammad Nasir-Deen Al-Albaani (rahimahullaah) Translated by Abbas Abu YahyaThe Obligation of Seeking Refuge from four things before the Du’aa‘The Messenger sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam used to say: ‘If one of you finishes from the [last] (1) Tashahud; then he should seek refuge (2) with Allaah from four things; [he says: ‘O Allaah I seek refuge with You] from the punishment of the Hell-Fire, and from the punishment of the grave, and from the Fitna of life and death, and from the evil of the Fitna (trials) of the Maseeh ad-Dajjal.’ [then he makes Dua’ for himself with that which appears apparent to him (3)] [He -sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam- would make Du’aa with it in Tashahud] (4) [He -sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam- used to teach it to his Companions -Radhi Allaahu ‘anhum- just as he would teach them a Surah from the Qur’aan.](5)Shaykh Albani’s footnotes:(1) The benefit of this extra wording is the legislation of this ‘seeking refuge’ in the last Tashahud rather than the first Tashahud; this is in contrast to what Ibn Hazm said in ‘al-Muhalla’ (3/271) and Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid followed him in this, whereby he said: ‘The chosen way is to make Du’aa in the first Tashahud, like making Du’aa in the last Tashahud, due to the general authentic hadeeth: ‘If one of you makes Tashahud; then he should seek refuge with Allaah from …’Al-Hafidh said in ‘al-Talkhees’ (3/507): ‘And he commented that it is in ‘as-Saheeh’ (al-Bukhari) from Abu Huriara with the wording: ‘If one of you finishes from the last Tashahud; then he should seek refuge with Allaah from …’ Ibn al-Qayyim said in ‘Za’ad’: ‘The Messenger sallAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not seek refuge in the first Tashahud – from the punishment of the grave and punishment of the Fire …. Etc. Whoever recommended saying it, (in the last Tashahud) had understood this standing from the general texts, but the absolute texts indeed correctly clarified its position, and restricted it to the last Tashahud.’ Then al-Hafidh said in ‘al-Fath’ (2/253) after bringing the hadeeth: ‘So in this hadeeth this ‘seeking refuge’ is specified to after finishing the Tashahud; and this Du’aa precedes all other Du’aas. As for when the person praying is given the permission to choose which Du’aa he wants to supplicate with, then this is after the ‘seeking refuge’ and before giving the Salams.’I say (sh. al-Albani): ‘And the extra wording is at the end of the hadeeth – ‘then he makes Du’aa for himself with what he wants.’ And this is a text to show that seeking refuge is in the second Tashaahud.’(2) This shows clearly that seeking refuge is obligatory and some of the Ahl-ul-Dhahir hold this opinion – and from them is Ibn Hazm (3/271)). Al-Hafidh said (2/256): ‘Some of the people claimed that there is a consensus that it is not obligatory, however there is a problem with this; because AbdurRazaq narrated with an authentic Isnaad from Tawwoos, indicating that he holds the ‘seeking refuge’ to be obligatory. This was when he asked his son; if he had said it after the Tashahud? And his son replied: No. Tawwoos ordered him to repeat the prayer.’I say (sh al-Albani): Indeed Muslim narrated this in his ‘Saheeh’ (2/94) as it came from Tawwoos. Al-Hafidh said: ‘Ibn Hazm was over generalizing when he said that you should also say it in the first Tashaahud. Ibn al-Mundhir said: if it was not for the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood whereby he narrated that: ‘then the person has a choice of what to make Dua’ with’ then I would have said it was obligatory.’I say (sh al-Albani): This choice of making Du’aa excludes ‘seeking refuge from these four things’, so due to the evidence this choice of making Du’aa becomes restricted, to be said after finishing ‘seeking refuge from these four things’ – has as preceded – ; so the truth is that it is obligatory, and Allaah Knows Best.(3) From the hadeeth of Abu Huraira -Radhi Allaahu ‘anhu- collected by Muslim, Abu ‘Awaanah, Ibn Majah and Ahmad.(4) From the hadeeth of ‘Abdullaah bin ‘Abbas -Radhi Allaahu ‘anhu- collected by Abu Dawood and this sanad is Hasan, its narrators are all narrators of Muslim.(5) From the hadeeth of ‘Abdullaah bin ‘Abbas -Radhi Allaahu ‘anhu- collected by Malik and Muslim, and from him Abu Dawood, Nisaae’ and Tirmidhi. [‘Original Sifat as-Salah’ vol. 3/p.998 – 1001]

No. 175 – From Abu Huraira who said: the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘One of you should not dare drink standing up.’ In another wording: From Abu Huraira said: from the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam-: that he saw a man drinking standing up, so the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said to him: ‘Vomit it out.’ The man asked: ‘Why?’ He -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘Would it please you that a cat drank along with you?’ The man answered: ‘No.’ The Messenger said: ‘For indeed, someone more evil than a cat drank along with you! Shaytan!!’

[Collected by Ahmad, Darmi and Tahawi , and Al-Albaani said this chain is Saheeh.]

No. 176/2175 – From Abu Huraira who said that Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘If the person who drank whilst standing knew what was in his stomach, he would vomit it out.’

[Collected by Ahmad and Albaani said it was Saheeh]

No. 177 – From Anas from the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam-: that ‘he prohibited’ – and in another wording: ‘rebuked us’ – from drinking while standing.’

Shaykh Albaani commented: ‘The evident prohibition in these Ahadeeth acknowledge the prohibition of drinking whilst standing if you do not have an excuse.

There are many Ahadeeth which mention that the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- drank standing up, so the scholars have differed in bringing harmony between the two different types of Ahadeeth. The majority of the scholars hold the opinion that the prohibition is not a total prohibition, and that the command of vomiting after having drank is only a recommended action.

Ibn Hazm opposed them in this, and went with the ruling of the prohibition to drink standing up, and perhaps this opinion is closer to being correct. As for the opinion that it is not a total prohibition then the wording ‘rebuked’ does not support that opinion, nor does the command ‘to vomit’, and what I mean by this is, that vomiting is a severe hardship upon humans, and I am not aware of such a hardship in the Sharia’ as a consequence for being lax about a recommended action!

Likewise the saying of the Messenger –sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam-:

‘Indeed Shaytan drank with you.’ Then this is a strict deterrent from drinking whilst standing up, and it cannot be inferred from this, that it is possible to say that, not sitting whilst drinking is merely leaving a recommended action.

As for the Ahadeeth which mention drinking whilst standing up, then we can assume that this is when there is an excuse for it, like if there is no space to sit, or that it is a hanging water skin and you need to reach it and this point has been indicated in some Ahadeeth, and Allaah knows Best.’

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Performing two raka’h is an expiation for any quarrel.”

Collected by Ibn Al-Arabee in his Mu’jam (2 /178) Ar-Razi (1/141) in Al-Fawa’id.

Shaykh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) graded this hadeeth as being Hasan. This is based on the Isnad that leads to Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). The Narration collected by At-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy upon him) in his Kubara which leads up to Abu Bahelee (may Allah be pleased with him) has a weakness in it as stated by Al-Haythamee (may Allah have mercy on him) [ Silsilah Saheehah #1789]

Al-Alamah Muhammad Abdur Ra’uf Al-Manawee (may Allah have mercy on him) commented on this hadeeth saying, “First a person should perform wudu which diminishes the anger. Then he should pray the two rak’ah.[ Faydul Qadir hadeeth # 3355]

* The word لحاء) ) refers to an argument which includes insulting, abusing or name calling.

…and from it is the saying of Anas, may Allaah be pleased with him, in a Sunnah from the Sunan of Salaat; and it is the spacing in the Salaat; that a Muslim stands beside his Muslim brother and attaches his feet, knees and shoulders to his brother without being excessive or negligent, as was legislated by the Messenger – salAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – who said:

“You will straighten your lines or Allaah will separate between your hearts or faces.”

This is why when the hearts have become separated during this time, so did the feet. Why is it that we can’t attach our feet to each other’s feet? It is because our hearts are detached from one another, if our hearts were attached to one another, our feet would also be attached. This is why if a person who loves you and whom you love were to put his foot over yours, you would not get upset, you would not say; ‘why is he bothering me’, this is because your heart loves him. But because there is a detachment between you and him, you cannot stand that he attaches his foot to yours let alone that he puts his foot over yours.

This is why Anas, may Allaah be pleased with him, when he describes his state at the time of the Messenger of Allaah – salAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – and his state after that, he says; “At the time of the Messenger – salAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam – we would attach our feet to our brother’s feet, and our knees to our brother’s knees, and our shoulders to our brother’s shoulders, in obedience to the Messenger’s orders – salAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, but if we were to do so today, he would escape like an obstinate mule.”

By Allaah I saw with my own eyes here in Madeenah, a man wanted to attach his foot to his brother’s foot, by Allaah his brother cut his Salaat, he cut his Salaat and left the whole first line and went to the second line. He left the first line to escape this Sunnah, and the cause of this is ignorance, may Allaah preserve you. This is why we must teach the people the Sunnah of the Prophet – salAllaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Regarding what is obligatory upon men and women to cover of their bodies

A woman is commanded to cover her hair with a veil when she prays by herself in her house, whereby she is allowed to expose it outside the salât. Therefore, it is the Right of Allâh on us to take an adornment when praying.

No one has the right to circumambulate the Ka’bah nakedly[1] even if he is alone in darkness where no one can see him. Likewise, it is not permissible for him to pray nakedly even if he is by himself.

It is from this point that we understand that, taking of an adornment in salât, is not for the purpose of veiling from people. Doing that is one thing and veiling from people is another thing. Also, it is understood that, an individual may cover in salât that which is permissible for him to expose outside the salât, and a woman may expose in salât that which she covers from the sight of men.

The example of the first issue is like that of the shoulders. For verily the Prophet (Sallalaahu Alaihi wa Sallam), has forbidden one of us to pray in one cloth that covers not his shoulders this is because it is the right of salât that one covers his shoulders when he prays though it is permissible for him to expose his shoulders to men outside the salât.

Likewise the free woman,[2] it is a must on her to put on a head-covering when praying as the Prophet (Sallalaahu Alaihi wa Sallam), said:

“لاَ يَقْبَلُ اللهُ صَلاَةَ حَاءِضٍ إِلاّ بِخِمَارٍ”

“Allâh the Almighty will not accept the prayer of the woman who reached puberty except with a head-covering” though it is not upon her to put on Khimâr [i.e., head-covering] whenever she is with her husband or her family members. That is because it is permissible for her to expose the hidden adornment to them, but it is not permissible for her to expose her head when praying, neither to her family members nor other than them.

And the opposite of that are the face, the hands and the feet. It is impermissible for her to expose these parts to foreign men according to the most correct opinion. Contrary to what was before the abrogation of that rule, as a matter of fact, she is only allowed to expose her garment. But as for covering those parts [face, hands and feet] in salât, it is not obligatory according to the consensus of the scholars though they are from the hidden adornment. But as for the ruling of the hands, the majority of the scholars like Abu Haneefah, Shafi’ee and others, have agreed upon the permissibility of exposing them in salât. And this is one of the narrations of Imam Ahmad. Also, according to Abu Haneefah it is permissible to expose the feet when praying, and this is the strongest opinion; because Ayesha has considered it from the apparent adornment.

Student Loans.

Question:In the US, we have a student loan in which the government pays the interest while the student is in school, and after the student finishes school, he will have to pay the principal plus interest. But if the student pays the loan back while in school, he will not have to pay the interest. Is it permissible to sign a contract for this type of loan if the student anticipates that he will pay off the entire amount before he graduates ?